Start your story with the whistle of a kettle.

Posted in Dramatic on Aug 19, 2022

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✍️ 60 stories

“Bone Valley Dragons” by Kelly Sibley

Submitted to Contest #160

Kettle screamed its readiness. Without much fanfare, its silver whistle flipped off as the old black cast-iron kettle moved itself onto the cool wooden chopping block by the hob side. Mother Harper always enjoyed the late afternoon. “That’s enough, Pug; you can take a breather.” She especially enjoyed it when everyone wasn’t doing dumb stuff that would end up in a trip to her hospital. Sometimes the population of Bone Valley used their brains instead of splashing them about. Pug, the smallish dark green dragon who lived below the w...

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“Persona” by Sayonee M N

Submitted to Contest #160

[Content warning: death, violence, bullying, self-harm] Stella groaned as the tea kettle started whistling. She was living her fantasies through the rich girls on the TV, and she didn’t want to pause it. The kettle kept whistling for five more minutes before Stella forced herself to get up from the couch. If she had a rich husband or rich parents like the girls on TV, she wouldn’t have had to deal with such mundane problems. As Stella dragged herself near the stove, the thick eyeglass fogged up by the steam. She turned off the stove, ro...

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“Black Kettle” by Jason Abshire

Submitted to Contest #160

Kettle whistled as he made his way up the path–the same that had brought water to the house for over one hundred years. He was already crouching from years of beatings and even as a young man he was starting to show wear. Eighteen years a slave had taken not only his spirit, but also any chance at a normal life. With nothing but a couple of rolls and two squares of salted meats, he set out into the night with hopes of freedom. He hadn’t traveled more than two hours before he found himself strapped to a wagon and headed back to the plantation...

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“DEATH HAS A PRICE” by Eshawnial Lowry

Submitted to Contest #160

Life was never supposed to be this hard. I tried to understand his sickness. His brain twisted the very fabric of his reality. Trying to teach him to process things in a non destructive way was like trying to coax a spider into not weaving an intricate web. Once the webs are spun and its prey is captive the spider is compelled to poison the victim. Just as my son spun webs of deceit he would poison his victims with intoxicating venom; the lies, he spewed from his mouth. Once they trusted him, he would strike then watch as their life faded aw...

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“A Cup of Tea” by Michael Regan

Submitted to Contest #160

The whistle of the kettle broke the morning silence.“I’m coming.” Jim yells as he rushes from the conservatory to the kitchen.Sitting at the small table in the conservatory, Jill smiles and shakes her head. He’s just like me, yelling at the kettle. I wonder if it comes from living alone too long?She adjusts her wheelchair so she can watch him in the kitchen. He has a ritual he goes through when making the tea. She likes to watch. She could still hear him as he explained it the first time.Rinsing out the teapot with boiling water from the ket...

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“The Below” by D. Robbins

Submitted to Contest #160

The whistle of the tea kettle brought us all crashing back to reality. The weight of the news that had just broken over the static on the old and only radio we owned was something we had all been dreading. The world had been in a freefall for years, but there had always been a glimmer of hope. The idea that maybe, just maybe we would be able to land on our feet. Even after the waves of illness, or the droughts, or famine, or… deaths. There had always been some hope. Every evening the radio would go silent and you would hear their voices. The...

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“The Bookseller” by Lane Bloom

Submitted to Contest #160

Screeeeeeeeeee! The kettle whistled on the metal stovetop, its once-white color now a faded, mottled cream. It was unusual to have a stove in a bookshop. But there it was all the same, standing proudly—albeit a bit tired—in the corner of the front room farthest from the door. The bookshop was located in what once was an old Victorian house—for the bookshop, at first nestled in what had been the kitchen, soon overtook the rest of the house. The living room was now lined with shelves of tattered, previously loved classics; the bedrooms were ...

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“Cinders” by Jayme Davila

Submitted to Contest #160

[This creative work centers around death and, naturally, may be unsuitable for some readers. There is also a brief, mildly-grotesque description near the end. Reader discretion is advised~] A screech pierces the air as the steam spews into it. It smells almost of hibiscus; it’s bittersweet with lavender notes. The smell is overpowered by the squeal. The boiling water, lapping violently at the walls, striving for its escape through the tiny hole covering the spout, screams from the heat. The herbs have long since withered and gone to mush,...

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“The In Between Captives ” by N.C. Webster

Submitted to Contest #160

This story contains murder and death. FWEEET! The kettle on the stove whistles as I walk back into the kitchen. The beautiful child growing inside my belly gives me a small kick. I smile as I rub my belly, coming to the stove. I lift the kettle, pouring the boiling water over the tea bag in my mug. I lift the cup to my nose, inhaling deeply the smell I love. Another kick takes my attention from the warmth in my cup and I rub my hand over my belly once again. I pull the mug to my lips, taking a small sip then setting the cup do...

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“What Happens in The Kitchen” by Michael Hopson

Submitted to Contest #160

Charlie Cobbler fought his urge to collapse once he heard the tea kettle whistle. He had spent the past nine hours on outlet duty, running electrons from their source, the wall outlet, through various electric cords, and delivering them by the bucketful to workers all over the kitchen in different appliances. It was exhausting work that should have been handled by a younger elf. But, these days Charlie would do any job his foreman would give him. His last delivery had brought him to the microwave, which gave him the perfect view of Mrs. Lov...

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“Dreadnought ” by Susan Roth

Submitted to Contest #160

The high-pitched whistle would wake anyone, to be fair, especially someone who normally boils water in an electric kettle. I’d been dreaming of a factory whistle and lines of workers streaming out of a dismal Northern foundry at quitting time. Like a Lowry painting.It took me a few seconds to remember where I was. Then it came into focus: I was wrapped in a damp sleeping bag on a narrow bunk in the musty bow of the ambitiously-named Dreadnought, a 25-foot sailboat. My rucksack lay on the opposite bunk – open but unpacked....

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“Tea for Two” by Zoë Page

Submitted to Contest #160

The irritable whistling always seems to pound my eardrums. I say we should get a modern one – forbid, it’s 2022, it’s not that difficult to get your hands on a kettle that doesn’t sound like it’s about to blow someone’s brains every time it comes to the boil. But no, Roommate only makes the very best tea if the water is stewed perfectly, and for some reason the exclusive technological kettles on the market these days won’t do. Roommate acts oh-so precise, yet Roommate has no care in the world for precision. It’s always bugged me, their habit...

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“Beached Hen” by Pete K Mally

Submitted to Contest #160

The kettle whistles at the same time he discovers he has finished the last of the milk this morning. Sighing, he places on his jacket, his cap and steps off his moored canal boat to land. Eric Cope takes the last two stone steps up from the canal and past the Canal Tavern. As per usual heglances through the pub’s window and sees him sitting at the bar drinking his Guinness. And onceagain, he quickly looks down at his scuffed boots, then up at the clouds blanketing the sky above -continuing his short daily journey to pick up a pint of milk an...

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“Summer, 1940” by Marjory Miller

Submitted to Contest #160

It was a dusty hot summer afternoon, and Kelly Larimer turned to take a whistling kettle off the stove. She returned to the window. She could see her son Stephen’’s best friend Danny coming down the lane with a few friends. Stephen was not with them. Stephen was always with them. And she noticed that they were quiet, not the usual for this group of 9 year olds. She wondered if there had been a falling out. She wiped her hands on her apron, opened the screen door with a smile and a wave. “ Hi Danny, is Stephen with you?” “No Mr...

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“Dinner for Five” by Ashlynn Altman

Submitted to Contest #160

The steaming kettle whistled on the stovetop and Mallory shuttered, jumping at the sudden sound breaking the noise barrier in her kitchen.Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.The large wall clock clanged back and forth amongst the silence in her apartment, the anxiety in her chest beating with each sounding. It felt as if the ticks and tocks were inside of her heart. However, what was truly in her heart was something much deeper. A secret. Mallory was pregnant.She didn't understand: how could something that so many people find exciting become her own trag...

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Start your story with the whistle of a kettle.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 60 stories

“Bone Valley Dragons” by Kelly Sibley

“Persona” by Sayonee M N

“Black Kettle” by Jason Abshire

“DEATH HAS A PRICE” by Eshawnial Lowry

“A Cup of Tea” by Michael Regan

“The Below” by D. Robbins

“The Bookseller” by Lane Bloom

“Cinders” by Jayme Davila

“The In Between Captives ” by N.C. Webster

“What Happens in The Kitchen” by Michael Hopson

“Dreadnought ” by Susan Roth

“Tea for Two” by Zoë Page

“Beached Hen” by Pete K Mally

“Summer, 1940” by Marjory Miller

“Dinner for Five” by Ashlynn Altman

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story during a drought.

Write about someone seeking an oasis in a desert — whether literally, or figuratively.

Write about a character whose job is to bring water to people.

End your story with someone dancing in the rain.

Contest #160

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

266

Contest entries

109

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: